Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Brewers Set World Series Championship Parade for Friday on Wisconsin Avenue

Police put the crowd at more than 750,000

Updated 23:36 UTC, Oct. 30: Milwaukee police estimated that more than 750,000 people attended the Brewers championship parade and the rally at Henry Maier Festival Park on Friday, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and FOX6 reported. The figure is nearly double the roughly 400,000 people the city had expected, and it is nearly one and a half times the population of Milwaukee itself, FOX6 reported. "Preliminary research shows this may have been the largest crowd for a single day event in state history," the Milwaukee Police Department said in a Facebook post. The Associated Press, via TSN, also reported the police estimate of more than 750,000, above initial expectations of about 400,000. The Journal Sentinel said the total far passed earlier Milwaukee championship crowds, including about 100,000 for the Brewers parade in 1982 after a World Series loss and more than 100,000 for the Bucks championship parade in 2021.

The parade Milwaukee waited 44 years for

Updated 18:35 UTC, Oct. 30: The parade promised on Wednesday night is now a fact. It rolled at 10 a.m. down Wisconsin Avenue through downtown and ended at Henry Maier Festival Park, and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported hundreds of thousands of fans downtown for it. The city had expected about 400,000 people along the route and at the lakefront. Fans claimed their spots hours early in temperatures in the low 40s, and Milwaukee Public Schools stayed closed so families could take part, the Associated Press reported.

The rally inside the sold out American Family Insurance Amphitheater started at 12:30 p.m. Owner Mark Attanasio praised his players as "gamers", and Matt Arnold spoke about how this club was put together. The Journal Sentinel reported that the 1982 team rode in the parade as well: Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, Rollie Fingers and Ted Simmons, the stars of the club that lost the 1982 World Series, joined the route, Ryan Braun shook hands along the crowd line, and the Famous Racing Sausages walked downtown a night after racing at Lambeau Field. In 1982 Milwaukee paraded for a team that had lost. This time the trophy rode with the team.

Milwaukee gets its parade on Friday. Hours after the Brewers beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 in Game 5 at Tropicana Field on Wednesday night to win the first World Series title in franchise history, the club announced the Milwaukee Brewers Championship Celebration for Friday, Oct. 30, with a parade down Wisconsin Avenue and a rally at Henry Maier Festival Park.

The route and the schedule

The parade begins at 10 a.m. at the intersection of North 4th Street and West Wisconsin Avenue and proceeds through downtown Milwaukee before concluding at Henry Maier Festival Park on the lakefront, where a rally and fan festival will take place throughout the grounds. The festival grounds open to the public at 8 a.m. Admission to the general grounds is free until capacity is reached, and fans inside will be able to watch live parade coverage on large video screens, with live music and food and beverage stands across the park.

USA Today reported that team officials expect a crowd of at least 400,000 along the route and at the lakefront, close to two thirds of the city's population. About 31,000 fans watched Game 5 at a watch party inside American Family Field, according to Milwaukee Business Journal reporting, and thousands more gathered at watch parties across the area during the series.

Tickets, towels and the team store

Seats inside the American Family Insurance Amphitheater for the rally speeches go on sale Thursday, Oct. 29, with staggered season seat member presales starting at 10 a.m. and the public sale at 2 p.m. Net proceeds from the amphitheater tickets benefit the Brewers Community Foundation, and fans without amphitheater tickets can watch the speeches on video boards throughout the festival park. The first 50,000 fans at the rally will receive a limited edition championship rally towel, courtesy of Associated Bank. Exclusive parade and rally merchandise will be sold only at Henry Maier Festival Park during the celebration.

The Brewers Team Store at American Family Field opens at 9 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 29, operating out of the merchandise tent in the third base plaza. FOX6 will broadcast the celebration live, and the rally is presented by American Family Insurance. The club directed fans to brewers.com/Parade for updates.

The city has done this once before

Milwaukee held a parade for the Brewers once before, in 1982, and that team had lost. After the Brewers fell to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games in the series remembered as the Suds Series, thousands of fans lined the downtown streets anyway and at least 10,000 more filled the old County Stadium for a ceremony. This time the buses will carry champions: a club that began as the Seattle Pilots in 1969, moved to Milwaukee in 1970, and waited 58 seasons for its first title.